Gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier

Abstract

A remote magnetic instrument, such as a compass, and a heading indicator, such as a heading gyro, are time shared in a dual channel gyro slaving amplifier with slaving and boot strap circuitry. The amplifier is a two function electronic device wherein the slaving circuit accepts heading error data from a heading gyro and provides separate channels of amplified information to slave drive the heading gyro. The second function of the amplifier is an electronic boot strap circuit to extract information from the heading gyro to drive a remote magnetic instrument. Each of the two functions shares equal time by operation of a time sharing switch with a timing signal provided from a ripple counter. The amplified information providing during the first function of the amplifier is a slaving signal representing heading correction generated by the slaving circuit responding to a heading error signal from the heading indicator. During the second function, a synchronous filter modulator/demodulator responds to angular position signals from the time sharing switching to provide energizing voltages at a modulating frequency to the remote magnetic instruments.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier for driving a heading indicator and a remote magnetic instrument, comprising in combination: switching means receiving input signals from the heading indicator and magnetic position data from a flux detector to provide a heading error signal and an angular position signal,   a timer generating a time sharing signal to said switching means to alternate the operation thereof between providing the heading error signal and the angular position signal,   a slaving circuit responsive to the heading error signal from said switching means to provide a drive voltage to the heading indicator, and   a boot strap circuit responsive to the angular position signal from said switching means to provide an energizing signal to the remote magnetic instrument.   
     
     
       2. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 1 wherein said boot strap circuit includes means for converting the angular position signal into a varying DC level. 
     
     
       3. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 2 wherein said boot strap circuit further includes a modulator responsive to a modulation signal and providing a chopping frequency to said means for converting to modulate the varying DC level. 
     
     
       4. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 3 wherein said boot strap circuit includes means to demodulate the modulated DC level into an energizing signal to the remote magnetic instrument at the frequency of the modulation signal. 
     
     
       5. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier for driving a heading indicator and a remote magnetic instrument, comprising in combination: switching means receiving input signals from the headng indicator and magnetic position data from a flux detector to provide a heading error signal and an angular position signal,   a timer generating a time sharing signal to said switching means to alternate the operation thereof between providing the heading error signal and the angular position signal,   a slaving circuit responsive to the heading error signal from said switching means to provide a correction voltage to the heading indicator, and   a modulator/demodulator responsive to the angular position signal from said switching means and a modulation signal from the remote magnetic instrument to provide an energizing signal thereto.   
     
     
       6. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 5 wherein said timer generates an excitation signal to the heading indicator during the operation of said switching means for providing the angular position signal. 
     
     
       7. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 5 wherein said modulator/demodulator includes a phase detector responsive to the angular position signal and an excitation signal to provide a DC level varying with the position signal to be modulated by the modulation frequency. 
     
     
       8. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 7 wherein said modulator/demodulator includes means to demodulate the modulated DC level into an energizing signal to the remote magnetic instrument at the modulation frequency. 
     
     
       9. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 5 wherein said timer generates a square wave time sharing signal to alternate the operation of said switching means to provide the heading error signal at one level of the square wave and to provide the angular position signal during the second level of the square wave. 
     
     
       10. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier for driving a heading indicator having a control transformer with a rotor and stator, and further driving a remote magnetic instrument, comprising in combination: a time sharing switch receiving a heading error signal as generated at the rotor of the control transformer, magnetic position data from a flux detector, and an angular position signal from the stator of the control transformer,   a timer generating a time sharing signal to said switch to alternate the operation thereof to: first, apply the magnetic position data to the stator and the heading error signal to an output of said time sharing switch, and second, applying an excitation signal to the rotor and the angular position signal to the output of said time sharing switch,   a slaving circuit responsive to the heading error signal from said time sharing switch to provide a drive voltage to the heading indicator, and   a boot strap circuit responsive to the angular position signal from said time sharing switch to provide an energizing voltage to the remote magnetic instrument.   
     
     
       11. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 10 wherein said timer generates the excitation signal applied to the rotor during the second operation of said time sharing switch. 
     
     
       12. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 10 wherein said timer generates an excitation frequency to the flux detector during the first operation of said time sharing switch. 
     
     
       13. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 10 wherein said timer generates a square wave time sharing signal, a first excitation frequency as the excitation signal applied to the rotor during the second operation of said time sharing switch and a second excitation frequency applied to the flux detector during the first operation of said time sharing switch. 
     
     
       14. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 13 wherein a time sharing switch operates to apply the position data to the stator and the heading error signal to an output during one level of the generated time sharing signal and operates to apply the excitation frequency to the rotor and the angular position signal to an output during the second level of the square wave shearing signal. 
     
     
       15. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 10 wherein said boot strap circuit includes a synchronous phase detector for converting the angular position signal into a varying DC level. 
     
     
       16. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 15 including a modulator responsive to a modulation frequency and providing a chopping frequency to chopper means for modulating the varying DC level. 
     
     
       17. A gyro slaving/boot strap amplifier as set forth in claim 16 including a demodulator for converting the modulated DC level into an energizing voltage to the remote magnetic instrument at the frequency of the modulation signal.